Senior Program Officer, Polk Bros. Foundation
Funders Together Board Secretary
Debbie is a senior program officer at the Polk Bros. Foundation, a private foundation making grants of $25 million per year in support of social service, education, and cultural programs that impact children, youth, and families in Chicago. Debbie has worked in the Chicago not-for-profit community for more than 20 years on issues related to social justice and civil rights. During her 11 years at the Polk Bros. Foundation, she has focused primarily on issues related to homelessness and housing.
Debbie has been an active member of numerous boards and committees that helped establish and implement the city’s policies to address homelessness. She was a founding board member of Chicago’s Continuum of Care, which developed the city’s first plan to end homelessness and she currently serves on the executive committee of Chicago’s Planning Council on Homelessness. Debbie is an advocate for the acceptance and incorporation of harm reduction strategies into housing and services delivery.